False Popularity
by xxstaindrosesxx
Summary: Vita Valios had always been an outsider since she never seemed to fit in and often felt like an ugly duckling. However, one day that all changes when she gets a glimpse of the other side, she realizes just how false popularity is, even for Cedric Diggory.
1. Chapter 1: An Ugly Duckling

Vita Valios had always been a black sheep at Hogwarts. She had always been easy to pick on with her long brown scraggily hair which managed to be poofy at the same time. Her hair hid her face most of the time and her huge bulky blue glasses contributed to her hidden face. Her school robes and uniform hung off her body like a drapery. It looked as if her body had no shape to it at all. In the end, Vita Valios pretty much resembled Ugly Betty minus the Hispanic heritage and braces.

Now Vita attended Hogwarts for her seventh year. In fact, she had been in the same year as the Weasley twins, Cedric Diggory, and many more. Although these students were in the same year, none of them had ever been friends with Vita, except for George Weasley, who occasionally talked to her, but he was more like an acquaintance. The truth was, Vita Valios had been more alone in her years at Hogwarts then most. She simply just didn't fit in.

Vita sat quietly in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. She pushed up her bulky glasses with one single finger, pushing them up farther on her nose. Her face almost pressed against her book as she read it silently and alone. She had been a bookworm, maybe even more so then Hermione Granger, and her Ravenclaw school robes did a great job of advertising her wit. They almost acted as a nerd detector for the other students.

Vita continued to read her book when a knock sounded from the entrance of the compartment. She looked up from the book and watched George Weasley enter the compartment. She watched him sit down across from her, noticing his red hair remained the same, but his height might have grown an inch or two. To be honest, Vita didn't mind when George talked to her occasionally, but it didn't mean anything other then that to her because of the crowd he hung out with.

"Hey Vita." George said, greeting her with disheveled hair.

"Hello," she replied. "What happened to your hair?"

George smiled like he knew something had been extremely funny. "Fred and I were goofing around. He's looking for Katie Bell right now. Those two have been dating for awhile."

"That's nice." Vita said in a sincere tone even though she didn't care. She pulled her book back up slightly, but not enough to block out George. She didn't want to push someone away who actually wanted to talk to her. She read the book and just let the awkward silence take over.

"How was your summer?" George asked to end the silence.

"Fine. I read a lot while my father went around doing conventions for an algorithm he created." She explained, sounding as if she thought this sounded fun.

George wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Algorithm?" He questioned.

"It's like a really complicated math problem that has a sequence to it. He's really into math since he's a muggle." She explained.

George didn't really understand, but he tried to remain interested. "So how does that work for him?" He asked, referring to her father's job.

"He's made tons of money helping the government." She replied, revealing they had wealth.

George knew his family had never been wealthy. On the other hand, Fred and him had made decent money from taking mail orders of their products while they attended Hogwarts. George wanted to respond, but the compartment door opened and Cedric Diggory, Fred Weasley, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet came in.

The four newcomers piled into the compartment and sat down. Fred and Katie sat together while Alicia sat by George. Cedric sat by Fred and Katie, although he appeared to not have a girl following him like both of the twins. Alicia Spinnet glanced at Vita along with the others. "Well, if it isn't shaggy dog bookworm," she teased. "I'm glad to know my boyfriend is charitable by talking to the lesser wizards."

The group laughed except for Vita and George. "Oh, come on you guys. That's not very nice." George stated.

"It's not like she has feelings anyways." Kaite said rudely.

"Good one!" Alicia exclaimed, laughing.

Vita closed her book and stood up quietly. "I'll just leave." She stated, heading for the door to the compartment.

"Good! We don't want you to grace us with your presence anyways." Alicia said cruelly as Vita left the compartment.

The group laughed while George didn't. "That's not funny." George stated, glaring at them all.

"Oh, come on. We're just goofing around." Fred said slightly laughing still.

"Yeah. It's not like there is anything special about her anyways." Alicia commented.

"She said her dad has tons of money." George stated, revealing information about Vita.

Cedric decided to finally grace everyone with his voice. "She should be in our group then." He half-joked.

The other four looked at him surprisingly. "Well, Katie and I could give her a makeover if you're looking for a girlfriend." Alicia suggested, thinking it had been partly a joke.

"I don't know about a girlfriend, but some arm candy could do for awhile. I'm sure a girl like her wouldn't mind being used for awhile." Cedric explained, showing how shallow he could be.

"That sounds like a horrible thing to do." George stated, not liking the idea at all.

"It's fine. Katie and I will give her a makeover when the time is right." Alicia explained, displaying she had been George's complete opposite. Even George had been unaware of why he started to date her. Truth was, Alicia had not always been like this.

***

Vita had left the compartment, feeling more upset then usual. She never understood why people made fun of her like she had no feelings. She did have feelings and more scars then most seventeen year-olds. Although her scars weren't physical, they were emotional, like deep lacerating wounds. At times she really hated herself and her appearance, but her father always reassured her that she had been beautiful and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Vita walked silently down the corridor with her book in her hand. She glanced at all the compartments and noticed most of them were occupied. Even one compartment had Loony Lovegood with Harry Potter and his group of friends. She really felt hopeless now, especially if Luna Lovegood could make friends. She really felt all alone like no one would ever care about her.

Vita finally reached a compartment where only one person occupied it. Unfortunately, this person had been Severus Snape, her Potions Professor. She sighed, never having an issue with him, but she knew how he treated some students. She decided to be brave and knock on the compartment door lightly. Then, she opened the door and met Snape's cold gaze. "May I sit in this compartment?" She asked in almost a whisper.

Severus Snape continued to gaze at her. "Don't you have any friends?" He asked, being rude and curious at the same time.

Vita looked down at the ground. "No." She answered in a whisper.

"Very well then. Come in." He said, returning his attention back to his copy of the Daily Prophet he had been reading.

Vita sat down quietly across from Snape, but she sat by the window. She felt relieved to have her book to occupy her mind. She wanted nothing more then to forget people's cruel tortures on her emotions, but sometimes it never worked. Sometimes she started to believe what others had teased her about. She really did feel like an ugly duckling sometimes, which is what Marcus Flint had told her when she had been a third year. Even some of the younger students made fun of her. She felt like Moaning Myrtle sometimes, but she had learned to control her emotions after years of verbal abuse.

Vita stared out the window and watched a blue bird fly freely over the land. She wondered what it would be like to be so careless and free. She could never be that beautiful bird. She could never be careless and free and just soar above the land. No. She had been the old reliable Vita who had to be smart and also an ugly duckling. Realizing she would never be a beautiful carefree bird, she let a silent tear roll down her cheek. She gently brushed the tear away, but it caught the attention of Professor Snape.

"I was picked on during my time at Hogwarts as well." Snape confessed as if he already knew the reason for her tears.

Vita turned her gaze away from the window and towards her Potions Professor. "You did?" She questioned with a couple of tears in her eyes.

Snape nodded silently. "Yes. Usually it was by those who were popular and neglected their schoolwork until last minute." He stated, remembering his torture from the Marauders.

"Did you have any friends?" She asked, knowing she didn't.

"I made more friends after school. After all, school is about learning and becoming a skilled individual," he explained, remembering his talent in Potions. "Plus, friends are distractions and from what I hear, you are quite the accomplished student."

Vita felt flattered because Snape rarely conversed with students or gave them compliments. "Well, I don't know if I'm accomplished." She retorted actually feeling like an idiot at times.

"You succeed in my Potions class and I heard you are Head Girl." He stated, being unusually nice.

Vita had almost forgot about becoming Head Girl and meeting the Head Boy in a separate compartment. "Yes, and that reminds me. I have to meet the Head Boy before reaching Hogwarts," she explained before standing up. "If you'll excuse me." She said politely, dismissing herself.

Snape nodded and turned back to his copy of the Daily Prophet. Before Vita left the compartment, she turned around and glanced at Snape. "Thank you." She said quietly, referring to their conversation and his praise.

Snape nodded silently in his usual non-emotional way as Vita left. She walked down the main hallway, passing students and the cart lady. She ventured all the way to the last compartment, which had a sign displaying it as the Head compartment. She peaked inside the window to see Cedric Diggory sitting on one side. Vita groaned, not prepared for his teasing and sharing a common room with him. She sighed and slowly opened the compartment, causing Cedric to turn to the entrance and gaze at her.

Cedric's eyes went slightly wide with surprise. "You're Head Girl?" He questioned, being okay with her receiving a makeover only a few minutes ago.

"Yes." She answered, sitting down on the bench across from him.

Vita sighed as she tried to not look at Cedric. "Let's just try to get along." She suggested, doubting they ever could.

"We will get along better then you think we will." Cedric smirked, being cryptic and thinking about what she would look like after the makeover.


	2. Chapter 2: Special Privileges

Vita couldn't believe Cedric Diggory had been made Head Boy. Of all the people she could have been stuck with, it had to be him. Cedric was one of the most popular boys in the school and everyone knew he had a thing for beautiful girls. He typically used them until he became bored with them and then he would dump them before moving onto his next victim. In the end, Cedric Diggory was nothing more than a heartbreaker for the female population at Hogwarts.

After the train had arrived at Hogwarts, Cedric left the Head compartment to go find his gang. Vita remained alone as usual as she exited the train. When it came to finding a carriage, she had even less luck. Nobody would want to sit with her and most of the carriages were already full. As she approached one, which appeared to be empty to the eye, she saw the Thestral standing there, waiting for the carriage to fill. She figured the life of a Thestral must be easy; always roaming the woods and free to fly away, unlike her.

As Vita stepped into the carriage, her Potions Professor, Severus Snape, had been sitting there quietly. He remained in his usual demeanor; same black cloak, greasy hair, and pale complexion. Vita seemed to be running into him quite a lot lately, but she didn't mind Snape. There was just something real about him, like he had actually experienced life beyond the fashion trends of the students at Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry to disturb you professor," she apologized. "I could find another carriage if you like."

"Nonsense," he stated in his usual monotone voice. "No one else would sit with me anyways. There is no point in having the Thestral pull a carriage with one man in it."

Vita finally sat down across from him and relaxed. As she sat, the Thestral began to pull the carriage as if it knew no one else would be joining them for the ride. A sigh left her mouth as she watched the Thestral. She knew many students couldn't see them, but she could. She had witnessed her mother's death when she was just a toddler. It had happened during the First War when a Death Eater stormed their house. Her father had been away on business, but her mother remained at home. Vita had been hiding in the kitchen cupboard under the sink, playing hide-and-seek with her mother. Unfortunately, the cupboard door was still opened a crack and she had witnessed the flash of green light take her mother.

Severus had noticed Vita watching the Thestral, which brought up the usual question. "Who did you see die?" He asked casually.

Vita turned her gaze away from the Thestral and looked at her professor. "My mother." She answered, not giving him any details.

Severus nodded calmly. "Most of us will see death before we reach our own demise," he explained, sounding rather wise. "Most people find death depressing, but you can't have life without death to balance it out."

Vita smiled slightly, being reminded of why she liked Snape so much. "Well, most people don't see the big picture." She said, revealing how many people tend to think these days.

"That is why you should take no offense to the way people treat you," he suggested. "Many students do not realize that their popularity here during their time at Hogwarts will no longer matter once they are on their own. They will not have the stone walls to protect them."

Vita continued to understand her professor's wisdom, as she wondered why students didn't like Snape. She knew he could be mean, but she figured it was a way to hide his rough emotional interior, which had become bruised throughout the years.

"Yes. People like Cedric Diggory will no longer matter." She agreed with his statement.

"Unfortunately, you will find out how some people still act like they are at Hogwarts years after they have left," explained Snape coolly in an undertone. "People like Diggory may never amount to anything."

Vita nodded as she completely understood and knew what she wanted to become. "I want to be an Auror once I leave this place." She confessed, having big hopes for someone who barely socialized.

"It will take a lot of hard work, and if you would like, I could teach you many things, especially about the Dark Arts which you must understand to defeat your opponent." He offered generously which rarely Snape had ever displayed.

Vita's heart flipped with excitement as she realized Snape was actually willing to help her. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Professor." She said graciously.

"Very well. Come by my office after dinner tonight and we will discuss when to have our sessions." He explained, appearing like the usual Severus Snape, but actually being decent to someone.

Vita nodded and then the carriage finally came to a stop outside of the Great Oak Doors. As she stepped out of the carriage, a question crossed her mind. "Professor, why are you being so nice to me?" She asked, trying to sound at least rude as possible.

Snape didn't seem offended by her question at all and he almost acted like he had been expecting it. "You remind me of myself when I was at Hogwarts." He explained without detail.

"Alright. I'll see you later." Vita said before entering the castle along with many other returning Hogwarts students. She made her way to the usual Ravenclaw table and sat down by herself. No one ever sat by her and she had become accustomed to this routine over the years. She glanced over at the Hufflepuff table to see Cedric laughing with his friends. The thought of Cedric even having friends disgusted her.

Once all of the returning students had settled down, the Sorting Ceremony began. The hat sorted short mischievous children one at a time. Each house ended up with more students and the houses each cheered when a student had been sorted into their house. A rather dorky looking young boy approached the stool next. McGonagall had read his name, Will Winchester, before he sat down on the stool. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the boys head and a few seconds later the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaw table cheered, but none of the Ravenclaw students seemed eager to sit by him. Perhaps his dorky appearance had been the reason, but Vita sympathized with the young boy. His bulky glasses and slight buck teeth reminded her of how she felt every time students looked at her. As the boy tried to find a seat, Vita patted the spot next to her. "You can sit here." She offered.

The boy sat down and smiled graciously at her. Once Will sat down, Dumbledore started with his usual beginning of the year speech. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I must remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits," he began. "I would like to congratulate all of our new prefects along with our new Head boy, Cedric Diggory."

The Hufflepuff table went wild as they all cheered loudly and some even whistled. Cedric even stood up to show off.

"Let's not forget our new Head Girl, Vita Valios." Dumbledore added.

The Ravenclaw table clapped, but none of the students seemed to be thrilled. Vita sighed, but she noticed Snape had been clapping and that meant more to her then anything because she knew he was being sincere.

"Now that everything is in order, the feast shall begin." Dumbledore stated as he raised his hands and made all of the food appear.

All of the students began shoving their faces full of food while they explained how their summer had been to their friends. Vita could never explain her summer to anyone unless she ran into George and he asked her. She looked at the brown haired boy next to her and noticed how he was trying to reach a basket of rolls in the middle of the table while the other students ignored him. She reached over and grabbed a roll, placing it down onto his plate in front of him.

"Thank you." The boy said quietly and shyly.

"You're welcome," she replied. "I'm Vita Valios by the way."

The boy looked at her through his big bulky glasses. "So you are the Head Girl?" He asked.

"Yup. That's me." She answered, eating a bit of her food.

"I'm Will Winchester." He introduced himself before biting into the roll Vita had put on his plate.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." She smiled, continuing to eat her food.

As she ate, the Ravenclaw first years walked by and completely ignored Will. The group followed a prefect who would show them to the Ravenclaw common room. "Should I go with them?" Will asked, looking slightly upset that the group had bypassed him.

"If you want, but I can show you where it's at." Vita offered.

"Alright." Will said, waiting for Vita to finish eating her food.

After Vita and Will finished eating, Vita stood up from her seat and looked at Will. "Follow me." She requested before starting to walk away from the table. She walked towards the main staircase and as she did, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet walked by, laughing and giggling at the sight of Vita and Will. "What are they laughing at?" He asked Vita.

"Just ignore them," she replied, starting to walk up the staircase. "Be careful of the staircases. They change from time-to-time."

Will nodded and tried to keep up with her. A painting talked to him by saying, "Welcome to Hogwarts." The poor boy almost jumped out of his skin in fright. Vita couldn't help but grin since she almost reacted the same way when she was a first year. "The paintings tend to talk sometimes. They're usually pretty friendly," she explained. "The ghosts, on the other hand, are different. You mainly have to watch out for Peeves the Poltergeist. He tends to cause mischief."

Will seemed to absorb all of this information as they continued up the stairs. Eventually they reached the fifth floor where the portrait hole for the Ravenclaw common room had been. "This is it," stated Vita. "You will need to remember the password."

"What is the password?" Will asked, looking at the portrait.

"Gillyweed," she answered, causing the portrait hole to open. "Go run along now and try to make some friends."

Will smiled and ran into the common room as if he had taken her words to heart. Vita grinned and started running down the stairs, trying to hurry to the dungeons to meet Snape. She wondered what time of the day the two of them would practice as she ran faster until she finally reached the dungeons.

Once she entered the Potions classroom, she could barely see anything because the room was dark. The only light glowed from Snape's office so Vita entered his office to see Snape sitting on his desk, writing on a bit of parchment. "Sit down." Severus requested in his usual monotone.

Vita sat down quietly in the chair across from Severus' desk. He looked up from the parchment he had been writing on and focused on Vita. "I will teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts, Unforgivable Curses, Advanced Potions, and much more," he listed off. "It will be a lot of hard work on top of the work you will be required to do in all of your classes."

"That's fine." She replied, looking at him with her mind ready to learn.

"You will come here everyday after dinner and if I require you to come during other times, I will inform you ahead of time," he explained, picking up the parchment he had been writing on. He leaned forward and outstretched his arm, handing her the parchment. "This is a list of things you will need. If you cannot get them, let me know. I may require you to find other items in the future. Is all of this understood?" He asked like he was being his usual self again.

"Yes professor." She replied, glancing at the list to only recognize a few things.

"Also, do make excuses about where you are at to your fellow students if one does become curious," he added in a monotone voice. "I've notified Dumbledore of our arrangement, but no one else knows and I'm sure many students would not want to hear about how you are being treated with special privileges."

"Yes professor." Vita said, seeing a glimpse of the typical Snape showing through.

"Now run along." He demanded.

Vita left her seat and walked towards the door. She wondered why Snape had been so nice to her even though he explained how she reminded him of his time at Hogwarts. As Vita headed back the way she came, she figured there was another reason Snape had been behaving differently. Vita knew she would appreciate the help plus it allowed her to be away from her common room. The less time she spent around Diggory, the better, but for right now, she was headed to that exact place she didn't want to go.


	3. Chapter 3: Cedric's Other Side

Vita walked the semi-dark hallways back to the Head common room. She stated the password of "Tabula Rasa", and the portrait hole opened. She stepped inside and her eyes went wide at the sight of the room. There were two leather armchairs, one blue and one yellow: one obviously representing Ravenclaw and the other representing Hufflepuff. A black leather sofa sat between the two armchairs, representing some type of middle ground between the two houses. A rectangular brown coffee table stood before the sofa.

As Vita continued to glance around the room, her eyes fell upon the huge brick fireplace in front of the sofa and armchairs. The logs were on fire, making embers crackle and turn a hot orange color. The light from the fireplace emanated over the floor rug, which acted as a spacer between the fireplace and coffee table. The reds and gold in the rug gave it a Gryffindor appearance, but it had a royal-like quality and that was its purpose.

On the other side of the room stood a tall brown bookshelf. The shelf towered over Vita, but she was fascinated by the massive collection of books. Some of the books appeared worn as if many Head Boys and Girls had enjoyed the knowledge the books had to offer. Vita knew she would take advantage of these books and she hoped they would help her with Snape's lessons.

As Vita admired the books with so much history behind them, the portrait hole opened up behind her. She turned around to see Cedric, the one boy she didn't want to see. She looked down and tried to avoid his gaze, but this usually failed, especially when she would be living with him for the year.

"If it isn't little miss four eyes," teased Cedric as he entered the room and had spotted her. "If there was a Miss Ugly pageant, I'm sure you would win."

The words stung Vita as usual, even though she had become accustomed to ridicule. This time, she became sick of it, and the words just struck a nerve. She stepped right up to Cedric and gave him the most hateful glare possible. "You know, you just hide behind this false persona. You make others feel bad to try and boost your fractured ego," she started. "Outside these walls, you will just be a scared lonely little boy who can't hide behind his insults and friends anymore."

Cedric's expression appeared blank, and then the muscles in his cheeks flinched as if he had clenched his teeth. He didn't say a single word and he just walked off to his room.

Vita felt shocked by his reaction and she actually felt kind of bad about her comments. She rarely ever said anything to someone who had been rude to her. Feeling guilty was even weird since Cedric had always been rude to her since they had been at Hogwarts. None of it made any sense, especially the part where Cedric didn't defend himself or retort with another insult.

After thinking over the incident for a few seconds, Vita decided it was time for bed. She walked over to her room and entered it, only to find more extravagance. The bed was king-size and brown, decorated with a blue canopy, which draped from the bedposts. A wooden dresser laid off to one side with her clothes already inside. A nightstand sat on the right side of the bed, a lamp standing in the middle of it with a blue lampshade. Even a Ravenclaw banner had been placed on the wall above the dresser.

Vita walked over to her dresser and opened up a drawer. By luck, her pajamas were in the drawer so she pulled them out. She quickly stripped off her school uniform, leaving it on the floor, and then she put on her pajamas. Once she was dressed for bed, she stepped over to the huge bed and crawled under the blue and gray covers. She laid her head on the blue and gray pillows before drifting off to sleep.

In the morning, Vita woke up to her usual routine of taking a shower, getting dressed, and heading to breakfast. She entered the Great Hall to see Cedric, George, Fred, Katie, and Alicia all sitting and eating together. They whispered and laughed as she walked by and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table next to Will, the first year she met from the night before.

"Good morning, Will." She said as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning." He replied with his mouth full of toast.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked before filling her spoon with cereal.

Will swallowed his bite of toast before responding. "It was a little weird to be sleeping away from home." He replied before taking another bite.

"It's always like that at first." She explained.

Just as Vita was about to take a bite of her cereal, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Alicia Spinnet looking at her. "What?" Vita asked, knowing something bad was going to happen.

"Katie and I want to give you a makeover." She answered.

"I wouldn't accept a makeover from you two even if you were my friends," explained Vita. "Looks don't matter to me."

Alicia grinned. "It should. No one thinks you're beautiful." She commented.

Vita just shrugged her off. "Oh well." She replied, not really caring.

"Oh well?" questioned Alicia. "You should care since your own mother is dead because of you. She saw what ugliness she had to live with and just found it easier to let that Death Eater kill her."

The words left a bitter aftertaste as they wounded Vita. Never, had anyone said something so hurtful to her. "I never told you about my mother's death." Vita said plainly, feeling the tears starting to form in her eyes.

"George told me, but it's pretty self explanatory," answered Alicia with a grin on her face. "Your ugliness killed your mother."

Vita looked at the table so she couldn't give Alicia the satisfaction of seeing her tears. As she remained facing the table, George came over and looked at Alicia. "That was uncalled for." He stated, looking sincere about the situation.

Alicia looked shocked by George's comment. She looked at her group of friends and none of them were laughing. As she looked back at George, Vita left abruptly and ran away from the table. George ran after her, and once he caught up with her, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "I'm sorry about that." He apologized, sounding sincere.

Tears flowed down Vita's cheeks as she looked at George. "You told her about my mother!" She exclaimed with hurt and sadness in her voice.

"I didn't think she would use something like that against you." He explained.

"Maybe you should think more about who you date." Vita commented before she ran off again, leaving George to wallow in her words.

As Vita ran along, she tried to wipe her tears as best as possible before heading to her first class: Potions. She remained upset, but she knew this class would go by quickly since Snape had been so nice to her lately. She just wanted a class where she could work alone and think quietly.

After Vita entered the classroom, she sat in the very back row. The class was with Hufflepuffs so the only person she had to worry about was Cedric. She sat there quietly unpacking her things while other students came in and talked to their friends to waste time that could be used to set up their supplies. At one point, Cedric entered, but he ignored Vita and found a Hufflepuff friend to sit with.

After a few minutes, Snape entered the classroom and no one had sat by Vita. Severus walked to the front of the classroom and pointed his wand at the chalkboard, making instructions appear for a potion. "You will be making a potion in partners today. I will choose your partner and if you don't like it, then you can always fail the assignment," explained Snape in his lecturing voice. Then, Snape started listing off partners. "Valios and Diggory," He said first.

Vita's heart sank because she wanted to be alone and not work with Cedric of all people. Also, she didn't understand how Snape could do this to her after she explained how Cedric treated her.

After Snape listed off all of the partners, the students started moving around. Cedric walked over to Vita's table, taking a seat next to her and plopping his bag on the floor. "You have one hour to finish the potion," explained Snape. "You may begin."

Vita didn't know what to say since she didn't want to talk to Cedric. She figured it was best to start the potion. She went to grab the first ingredient listed on the board, but Cedric had already grabbed it. He handed it to her without saying a word. Vita just added the ingredient and then put it back. Cedric handed her the next one and it repeated like this for every ingredient. Vita would stir the potion when it needed to be stirred, and Cedric blew on the fire like it instructed them to do on the board. Eventually, the potion was completed and they had done it in silence.

Vita wondered if Cedric was being nice or if he simply wanted to get the potion done and over with. At the end of class, Vita poured some of the potion into a vial. Professor Snape came around to check on everyone's potion. He checked Vita and Cedric's last since they were sitting in the back of the class. Snape looked over the liquid carefully and then handed it back to vita. "Full marks." He said, before walking away and leaving them there.

As soon as Snape gave them their grade, Cedric darted out of there. Vita sighed and cleaned up everything by herself. Once she was done, she walked up to Professor Snape to ask him her burning question. "Why did you partner me with him after everything I told you?" She asked with a bit of resentment in her voice.

"The first thing you must understand is that pain, hurt, and anger are powerful weapons," he explained. "I figured I would have upset you and you could have used it in our lesson tonight."

"It did make me slightly angry." She confessed.

"Use it. It's a good motivational tool." He explained.

"Yes professor," she said. "I'll see you tonight."

Vita left the Potions classroom and headed back to her common room. She stated the usual password and entered before plopping down on the brown leather sofa. She pulled a textbook out of her bag and began reading it. A few minutes into reading, the portrait hole opened up and Cedric appeared. He didn't say a word as he sat down quietly on the other end of the sofa. He also pulled out a textbook and began reading.

After a few minutes of silence, she couldn't take it anymore. "I know you've been mean to me over the years, but I was rude to you last night. I'm sorry." She apologized even though she knew he didn't deserve an apology. She just had to be the bigger person though.

Cedric stopped reading his book, but he didn't look at her. "Don't be. It's the truth." He confessed.

"Oh." Vita said at a loss for words.

Cedric paused for a moment and looked up at her. "Alicia should have never said that about your mother." He said as if he sympathized with Vita.

"Thanks." Vita said not sure of what else to say since this was a different side of Cedric she was seeing.

"George even broke up with Alicia. He feels bad about everything," explained Cedric. "He seemed pretty upset when you yelled at him."

Vita sighed. "I know. It's just, I shared something private with him and he was the only one in your group who didn't tease me." She explained, confessing how she felt betrayed.

Cedric clenched his teeth together, causing the muscles in his jaw to move. "I know it probably doesn't mean much after I've been a jerk to you for so long, but I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Thanks." Vita said, not sure of what to think or say.

"Listen. I'm supposed to meet Fred and George in the library to study, as weird as that sounds. You could come if you want. You and George could work things out." Cedric explained, being more than nice.

"Sure." Vita said, not sounding like she really wanted to go. She feared it could be some kind of set up.

The two of them grabbed their things and headed to the library. Sure enough, Fred and George were sitting at a table. The two of them walked over and the twins looked dumbfounded at the sight of Cedric and her. George stood up from his seat and stood in front of Vita. I'm sorry about earlier." He apologized.

A glare came over Vita's face and she looked over Gorge's shoulder. He was about ready to apologize again, but she stormed off. George turned to see her heading towards Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle who were shoving a boy younger than them.

Vita grabbed the young boy she had recognized and stood in front of him to protect him.

Draco and his lackeys laughed. "If it isn't his big sister to the rescue. I can see the resemblance from the big glasses and ugliness." He teased.

Vita just smirked at him. "Ten points from Slytherin." She said, using her Head Girl privileges.

Draco sneered. "How dare you!" he exclaimed angrily. "You half-blood freak!"

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" She asked, teasing him back.

Draco pulled out his wand, but a blast of red light hit him, causing him to be stunned. Vita turned around to see Cedric, Fred, and George running over. "Are you okay?" George asked.

"Yes. Thanks." She replied.

"Come on then," he said, "before someone comes over here from all of the commotion."

"Just one second." She requested before kneeling down to the boy.

Tears had formed in Will Winchester's eyes from the ridicule he had received. Vita put her hands on the side of his arms and looked him in the eyes. "Don't you ever let someone make you think you're worthless," she demanded. "All that matters is what's in here." She explained, pointing to his heart.

Will nodded and wiped his tears on his school robes. "Now run off and stay out of trouble." She said.

Will ran off and Vita turned to face the boys. They appeared kind of guilty looking after Vita's little speech to Will. She walked over to their table, regardless of their expressions. After all, she had nothing to apologize for. She just wanted to give Will the advice she never had at that age.

Cedric, Fred, and George sat down at the table after she sat back down. They opened up their books and began to study although; the twin's ideas of studying were quite different. They were reading up on new items that joke stores were carrying. They were taking these new items and drafting new products that were either better, or they had gotten a new idea from. Vita studied furiously and did her homework quickly, writing so fast that ink smeared all over her hand.

After a few hours of studying and doing homework, it started getting dark outside, indicating that it was time for dinner. "I'll see you guys later." Vita said, standing up and leaving the table after she had packed up her things. She walked to the Great Hall, wanting to get dinner over with because she knew her first lesson with Snape was after dinner. She couldn't wait to see what he had in store for her, and what great things she would be learning from the Potions Master.


	4. Chapter 4: A Lesson in Disguise

Vita went to dinner in the Great Hall. She sat at the Ravenclaw table next to Will. He might have only been a first year, but he had already been nicer to her than most of her other fellow Ravenclaws. Then again, Will hadn't been exposed to the popular side yet. One day he could fall into their crowd and decide that Vita was no good for him, just because of the way she looked and acted. On the other hand, Will could turn out to be just like Vita, the unpopular girl who tends to keep to herself and has people picking on her.

Vita began to eat the delicious food Hogwarts always had to offer. She took a bite of some chicken before turning to Will. "So how was your day?" She asked curiously.

Will still had a hard time reaching some of the food since he was a bit shorter than some of the other students. He managed to grab a piece of chicken without leaning over anyone else's plate and appearing rude. "Better than the day before." He replied.

"That's good," stated Vita. "It takes time to get used to everything. I actually think my father was more scared of me being away from home than he was. I guess I don't really blame him. He's all alone because my mother died when I was pretty young."

"My mother practically had a fit," replied Will as he ate a bit of food. "She was crying the entire way to the train station. She even cried after I got on the train. My father seemed okay with it though."

"I think dad's are always less upset about their children going away. If they're not, they just know how to hide it well," she explained. "My mother stayed home to take care of me so I'm sure she would have acted in a similar fashion."

Will nodded. "My mother stays at home and takes care of my sister and I as well." He mentioned.

"That explains it then. She has had more time to get attached to you." Vita explained. She looked up at the Professors table and saw that Snape was no longer present. She figured she might as well go to his office and see if it was time for the lesson. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you later, Will." She said before taking off.

Vita left the Great Hall and headed towards the Dungeons. The hallways always seemed to get darker the farther someone went down to the Dungeons. They weren't the most appealing place to be in the school, but they were the best place to be if someone wanted to get away with something or stay practically hidden. Most students didn't bother going to the Dungeons unless it was for their Potions class. Many students were scared of the stories they had heard about students being punished in the Dungeons during the old days.

Vita finally made it to the Potions classroom. The class was lit up but the lights were dim. She could see Snape sitting at his desk, reading a bit of parchment. She stepped inside the classroom and walked over to his desk. A chair was sitting in front of his desk so she sat down in it quietly. Snape looked up from his parchment and gazed at her. "I see you have made it to your first lesson." He stated obviously.

"Yes, professor." She replied, not knowing what to expect from him. She knew he could be mean sometimes, half of those times actually having a lesson or purpose behind them, the other half just intended to be plain cruel.

"Very well," he replied. "Our first series of lessons will have to do with the art of disguise. It can be a very helpful technique when caught in a battle, or trying to keep your identity hidden. There are several ways to achieve a disguise: spells, potions, and becoming an Animagus. I'm not expecting you to be able to become an Animagus, but I can teach you how to achieve a disguise through other means. The first of which you will learn through spells."

Vita nodded silently and tried to absorb everything Snape was telling her. "I know that disguise does not seem that important to you, but it can mean life or death in certain situations," he explained. "Aurors will use disguise to gain information, get into high risk locations, or even gain the trust of the enemy." Snape grabbed the bit of parchment he had been reading and leaned over, handing the parchment to Vita.

Vita took the parchment and looked at it. It was a list of several spells in order to alter one's appearance. "For your first assignment, I would like you to change your appearance using any of these spells. You can use as many as you would like, but you should change your appearance in a manner that others will not recognize you. Of course, I will recognize you since I know every student in this school. However, your main goal is to not have anyone recognize you. I want you to change your appearance tomorrow morning when you wake up and when you come to our lesson tomorrow night, tell me how many people recognized you. Understood?" He explained in great detail.

"Yes, professor," she replied. "What about my classes though? If I go to class and professors can't recognize me, how will they know I attended?"

"Do not worry," he replied. "Your professors have been told that you are conducting an experiment so they will know it is you. If any students ask who you are, make something up."

"Yes, Professor." She answered with the usual response a student gives when given directions by a Professor.

"You may go now." Snape said as he made himself look busy at his desk again.

"Yes, Professor. Goodnight." Vita said before standing up and leaving his classroom. She headed towards the Head Common Room, feeling uneasy about the thought of having to hide from everyone. She knew that being an Auror would be difficult, but she never thought she would have to do things like this. Hiding her identity would be one big lie, and even more importantly, lying to herself. Sometimes she didn't feel happy with the person she had become, but hiding her identity, was almost like lying about who she really was.

Vita stated the same password at the Head Common Room entrance and then stepped inside. Cedric was nowhere to be seen, which made Vita feel a little better. She just wanted to get a good night's sleep before having to fool the whole school about who she was. She didn't feel like talking to Cedric; the one guy who had wanted her to pretty much change her appearance for the better. He had been a jerk throughout the years, and if he figured out who she was tomorrow, it would give him one more reason to be a jerk.

Vita stepped inside her room, closed the door, and then proceeded to put on her pajamas. She crawled in bed and just closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep even though her mind was filled with so many pretenses. After a while, Vita finally fell asleep and managed to get a few hours of sleep.

In the morning, Vita woke up with her heart in her throat. Her body felt so tense and scared at the thought of having to fool everyone. She knew she had to do it anyways because Snape wouldn't give her a lesson that was completely pointless, although she started to wonder if maybe he was just doing some of this to have a good laugh.

Vita stepped over to her dresser and pulled out a clean uniform which had her Ravenclaw colors on it. She slid them on and realized she could look a bit sexier than some of the other students. She didn't want to look like a slut, but she didn't want to appear closed off and shy like she usually does. She left a couple of buttons undone on the white dress shirt rolled up her skirt at the waist, just once, to make it a little shorter.

After Vita had dressed and modified her clothes, she stood in front of her mirror with her wand and the list of spells. First she pointed her wand at her eyes and did an Eye Color Changing Charm. Her eyes turned from brown to green within a matter of seconds. Next she changed her hair color, changing it from dark brown to red. She didn't like blond or black so she decided red would be best. Her hair had always been bushy so she did another spell to smooth it out and make it slightly wavy. Since Vita had always needed glasses to see, she took them off so her identity wouldn't be obvious. She just pointed her wand at her eyes and did a spell on the list, which would grant her temporary perfect vision.

After Vita did all of these spells, she looked in the mirror and felt very shocked by her appearance. She looked beautiful, almost stunning, but she felt embarrassed by it also. She felt as if she had betrayed herself by changing who she really was. Instead of accepting the makeover from Katie and Alicia, she had done it herself and hidden the real her, even if it was for a lesson. She just took a deep breath, realizing she had to get through this one day and that was it. After today, she could go back to being the Vita that almost everyone disgusted and thought was ugly.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, Vita realized she still looked a bit noticeable. She cast a few more spells, one to make her eyebrows the same color as her hair, and another to make her lips a bit fuller. She didn't change her nose because it wasn't really important. After her appearance had been changed, she decided she needed a bit of makeup like the rest of the girls her age. She cast a couple of other spells to make her eyelids have a light blue glittery eye shadow with a bit of eyeliner and mascara. The other spells made her lips pink and have a shiny gloss to them. Now her new identity was complete and she would have to face the world a changed person.

She grabbed her bag full of books and walked over to her door, opening it only a crack and peaking through the crack. She didn't want Cedric to see her, or he would know it was her. She didn't see Cedric anywhere so she ran to the entrance of the common room, left it, and skidded out into the hallway. However, she ran so fast that she tripped and fell, causing her backpack to drop to the floor and have things spill out of it.

"That's going to leave a mark." Vita said to herself quietly. She picked herself up and started grabbing her possessions so she could put them back into her bag. A brown-haired boy who was a couple of years younger than her, and in Gryffindor, bent down to help pick up her things. He handed her a book and a quill before she grabbed it and placed it back into her bag. "Thanks." She said graciously before standing up because everything had been put back into her bag.

"You're welcome," the younger student replied. "I haven't seen you around here before. My name is Neville. Neville Longbottom."

Vita knew who he was but she couldn't exactly tell him that. "My name is V-Valerie. Valerie Kinwood." She replied with a good cover up. She had almost given her real name, which would have been a dead giveaway.

"Are you a transfer?" Neville asked, being extremely curious.

"Yeah. I sure am," she replied. "But listen. I have to get to class. Thanks again." She said before running off down the hall to her Charms class.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" Neville shouted to her down the hall.

Vita entered her Charms classroom with half of the class already full. Students turned to look at her, their eyes on her like a vulture. Some of the students started whispering, probably trying to figure out who this 'new' student was. Vita had this class with the Gryffindors so Fred and George were in the class. Even the two of them were whispering and trying to figure her out. Vita just sat in the back of the class, ignoring everyone's whispering and staring eyes.

"Quiet down class!" Professor Flitwick shouted. He went on to teach the class about Cleaning Charms and how they can be affective. Vita thought the spell was a little pointless, but figured it would come in handy at some point or another. She figured it would be great for when someone has spilled food on their clothes.

After class was over, Vita headed to Herbology with Hufflepuff. She knew Cedric would be in this class so she felt very uneasy about the situation. A few guys wolf whistled at her as she walked down the hallway. She just rolled her eyes because she knew guys could be complete pigs sometimes. As she entered the classroom, only a couple of students were there. Cedric just happened to be one of them. Vita decided that a hot popular girl would go talk to the hot popular guy in school so she walked over to Cedric. "Can I sit here?" She asked, referring to the empty seat next to him.

Cedric glanced at her and didn't really even seem to care or pay much attention. "Yeah sure." He replied.

Vita sat down quietly and grabbed her supplies out of her bag. "Do you know what we're learning today?" She asked.

"No." He replied simply. He looked around the room as other students started to pile into the class.

"Are you looking for someone?" Vita asked in her disguise.

"Yeah I guess." He replied. "So who are you?"

"My name is Valerie Kinwood. I'm a transfer." She answered.

"Hmm." Cedric replied. He didn't seem very interested in this 'new' girl everyone else had been so interested in. He just turned to face the front of the class as Professor Sprout started to go on about some weird plant as usual.

Vita felt a little hurt by Cedric's behavior. Was she not his type or something? Then again, why should she care? He was always a jerk who just wanted to practically treat girls like arm candy. On the other hand, he had been looking for someone. Was he looking for her? Vita figured it wasn't her because Cedric had been mean to her for so long until yesterday. He couldn't possibly change in a matter of a day or two.

At the end of class, Vita just grabbed her things and left the class. Later that day, she headed to the Great Hall for dinner. As she walked up to the Ravenclaw table, one of the male students grabbed her butt. Vita jumped and then turned around and glared at the boy. "The next time you try to touch me, you won't have a hand to grab anything." She threatened.

"Oooo. Feisty." He replied before some of his friends and himself started laughing. Vita just ignored him, but she started to become sick of this disguise. First it was the whispering and staring, then the wolf whistles, and now some guy grabbing her butt. She really hated this but just sat down next to Will at the Ravenclaw table. She didn't really care if it seemed obvious, but it was better than sitting next to a bunch of guys who wanted to get up her skirt.

Will didn't say anything to Vita as they ate dinner. He didn't know who she was and Vita had been the only one who actually tried to be friends with him. She didn't talk to him because she remained in a foul mood and also didn't want to give anything away. She could still feel the eyes of other students on her as she sat there quietly.

Fred and George Weasley were two of these students. They had first noticed her in Charms, but now they were watching her from at the Gryffindor table. "Are we related to her?" Fred asked George since he had noticed the red hair.

"I have no idea." George replied. He looked down at the table and saw his brother Ron. "Hey Ron!" He shouted.

"What?" Ron asked sounding very irritated.

"Do you see that girl over there?" George asked, pointing to Vita at the Ravenclaw table. "Are we related to her?"

"How the hell would I know?" Ron asked rudely. "And I hope not. She's really fit."

"I'm going to laugh if you just said your own cousin is fit." Fred joked with a grin on his face.

"Her name is Valerie Kinwood. She said she's a transfer," Neville stated. "I helped pick up some things for her in the hallway earlier."

"Hah! See?" Ron taunted.

Vita sat up and left the Ravenclaw table since she was done eating. She went back to the Dungeons to give Snape the news of her lesson. He was already waiting at his desk like before so she sat down in the chair again.

Snape's eyes checked out her new appearance. He had seen it occasionally throughout the day but didn't have a good chance to see her up close until now. "Good use of the spells," he complimented. "The red hair was a good choice. Blond would have been too obvious and black would have looked fake because of your authenticity."

"Thank you, Professor." She replied.

"Now, did anyone notice who you were?" He asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." She answered.

"Very well," he stated. "Change your appearance back. We will have our next lesson in disguise tomorrow night."

Vita nodded and used her wand to change back her appearance. It only took a couple of flicks of the wand since the spells just needed to be ended. Her eyes went back to their usual brown color, her hair became brown and bushy again, and everything else returned to normal. She looked like the same old Vita she always had been.

Snape just nodded once she turned back to her original self. "You are dismissed."

Vita left the Dungeons in a hurry and ran back to the Head Common Room. She entered and just plopped down on the sofa. She had hated this day with every fiber of her being. Guys were practically drooling over her, wanting her like they had never wanted her before. It tore her up inside because now she was just an ugly duckling once more. She realized how false popularity could be in just a matter of a day.

A few tears ran down Vita's cheeks. Nobody really knew it was her. She had just been a disposable person that no one knew. More people talked to her and noticed her as Valerie than she had ever been noticed before. As Vita sat on the couch crying about her day, Cedric entered the common room. He saw her on the sofa and stepped closer. "Hello Valerie." He stated abruptly.

Vita looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "How did you know?" She asked curiously.

Cedric noticed she was crying so he sat down next to her. "Because you were gone all day. You were the only one missing in Charms. Also, your voice was a big give away. Now why are you crying?"

Vita couldn't believe that Cedric had noticed it was her. Of all the people to figure it out, it had to be him. "It was just an awful day. People act so differently. I even had a guy grab my butt."

"Then, why did you do it?"

"It was for an experiment," she lied. "To see how people would treat me differently."

Cedric nodded and put some of Vita's hair behind her ear as she wiped her eyes. "You shouldn't have done it. You're fine the way you are."

"You don't have to say that just to be nice." She replied.

"I'm not." Cedric stated.

Vita looked up at him and saw that his eyes were on her. Cedric looked nervous about something, but then his intentions were made clear. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Vita's heart leapt in her chest and she just closed her eyes, letting him kiss her. She didn't really kiss back, not sure of what to think since he had been mean to her for so long.

After a few seconds, Cedric pulled away and then he looked down, avoiding her eyes. "Sorry." He stated as if kissing her were the wrong thing to do. "I better go to bed."

Cedric stood up and left Vita on the couch feeling rather shocked. Before he went to his room, he stopped and turned to face her. "You're fine the way you are," he stated. "There is something different about you and it just took me a long time to realize it." Cedric then went into his room for the night.

Vita went to her own room and changed into her pajamas. Then, she crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Her mind went into overdrive as all of the events of the day came rushing back to her. She had changed her identity, been given a glimpse of false popularity, and kissed by the one guy who had practically been her enemy for years. She wondered if Cedric really liked her or if he was just playing some game with her. Could Cedric really change and like her? She would soon find out.


	5. Plagues, Stacks, and Flying Bludgers

In the morning, the sun shined through the window, acting as an alarm clock for many of the students at Hogwarts. Vita had always relied on the sun to wake her up. She wanted to be an early bird and wake up before other students so she could spend time reading and studying. However, Vita felt different about this particular day. The day before caused many events which made her not want to wake up today. The lessons she learned from false popularity were one of them, and then that kiss from Cedric. That kiss still lingered on her lips and she didn't understand why he had done it.

Vita groaned and then finally crawled out of bed. She prepared for the day by getting cleaned up as usual and then putting on a clean pair of school robes. She grabbed her bag before exiting her room, only to see Cedric on their common room sofa just sitting there. He turned and looked at Vita when he heard her. "Can we talk?" He asked as if something were truly on his mind.

"Alright." Vita replied before taking a seat on the sofa since she really wanted answers for that kiss he had given her.

Cedric avoided Vita's eyes and twirled a part of his school robes in his fingers. Apparently, Cedric Diggory could become nervous when talking to girls. Everyone thought he was always the really suave guy who could talk to any girl with ease, but now his behavior had proved those people wrong. "I meant what I said last night," he stated. "You're fine the way you are and I should have realized it a long time ago."

"This better not be some type of trick." Vita replied since she knew Cedric had used words to trick girls in the past. She remembered many girls had even been persuaded to leave their boyfriends for Cedric.

"It's not," he replied. "I really wanted to kiss you." He finally looked up at her and gazed into her eyes. "There is just something about you. I don't even know what it is, but you do something to me. It's like my stomach gets tied in knots when I see you sometimes."

Vita laughed slightly since she thought this was another one of his lame attempts to get a girl in the sack.

"It's not funny," stated Cedric with a hurt expression on his face. "I'm serious."

Vita stopped laughing at him and looked at him, realizing he had been serious. "I'm sorry. It just sounds weird when you say that." She stated, giving him a slight smile to try and cheer him up.

"I suppose it does," he stated. "Anyways, we better get to breakfast."

Vita and Cedric left their common room and walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Only a few students were in there since it was still pretty early. Most of these students came early to get the best food, or to simply read quietly while they ate. Vita usually arrived early to eat. She didn't care if she received the best food since she barely ate at breakfast anyways. "Do you want to take some food and eat out in the courtyard?" Cedric asked as if he had thought about them spending some time together.

"Sure." Vita replied before walking over to the Ravenclaw table and grabbing a doughnut. She placed it on a napkin and then walked out to the courtyard to wait for Cedric. She sat on a bench since the grass remained wet from morning dew. Vita ate a bite of the chocolate covered doughnut before she grabbed her book and opened it. She had decided to start reading a few of the books that were available in the Head Common Room. This particular book had to do with the theories of how some witches and wizards believed that plagues from back in the Middle Ages or even other times, were spells that dark wizards had cast on people. However, none of these theories have ever been proven, but some theorists have still believed in Plague Spells.

After Vita read her book for a few minutes, Cedric sat down next to her with a big plate of food. He had scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and even some orange juice in a cup. "Somebody is hungry." Vita stated obviously with a grin on her face.

"There is Quidditch practice later today," he explained. "You should come watch."

"Maybe." Vita replied as she took another bite of her doughnut while reading the book.

"So what are you reading?" He asked while leaning over to sneak a peek at her book. Cedric managed to get a glimpse of some of the words and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Plague Spells and theories? That is some pretty morbid reading."

"It's just theories and things," she replied. "Plus, it was one of the many books in the Head Common Room."

"Weird." Cedric replied as he shoved some scrambled eggs into his mouth with a fork. His cheeks popped out like a chipmunk that had shoved too many nuts into its mouth.

As the two of them sat there quietly, Fred and George Weasley walked over to them. They were laughing and had huge grins on their faces about something. Vita glanced up from her book as she heard them laughing. "You two are up rather early." She stated since the twins were the types who usually were late for many things and never bothered getting up early.

"We had to get up early for mischief." Fred stated with a grin on his face.

"We planted stink bombs on the toilets near the Slytherin Common Room. We rigged them to go off every time someone flushes a toilet." George explained with a mischievous look on his face.

"It's going to be stinking in there for a few days, and not for the more obvious reasons." Fred joked as he let out a laugh.

"And you wonder why the Slytherins hate Gryffindors so much." Vita stated as she glanced back down at her book.

"They deserve it." Fred stated.

"So what classes do you two have later?" George asked as he looked at Vita and Cedric.

"Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts." Cedric answered. "Should be interesting now that they have the real Alastar Moody teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Unless it's another doppelganger." Fred joked and laughed. He appeared to never take things as seriously as even George. George was the one of the two who still found some things more important than pulling pranks and jokes on people. He still enjoyed those things, but he enjoyed doing other things as well.

"I only have Defense Against the Dark Arts later." Vita stated, glancing up from her book.

"We should meet in the library later." Cedric suggested to everyone.

Everyone agreed on meeting there after their classes. "Maybe that Valerie chick will be there that George and I saw yesterday." Fred explained with a grin on his face.

"Ron thought she was really fit." George mentioned.

Vita snickered slightly and George and Fred gave her that what's-so-funny look. Cedric gave her a look also because he had known it was her. "I better get to Charms." He stated before grabbing his bag and taking off.

"See you later, Vita." The twins said before they left as well. Vita just remained on the bench, continuing to read her book. The theories started to fascinate her, even if the subject was kind of morbid. One section really caught her eye. It was a theory about how plagues and diseases could be picked up by using the Imperius Curse. Some witches and wizards theorized that if a person simply put another person under the curse, and told them to get the plague; then they would. However, some theorists tried this on animals and it never worked. They believed that a person just couldn't make another person get sick if the disease isn't in their body somehow. Many of the theorists believed that if a person had been told to come in contact with another person who had the disease, they could easily obtain it then, if they were told to get the plague. However, this theory was never tested because many of the witches and wizards believed it would be unethical to treat a person like that. It would be wrong to make someone get sick just to prove a theory right.

Vita shook her head as she read this theory. It was very interesting, but she couldn't believe that actual witches and wizards used to try and make people get sick just to prove some theories. There were other theories too. Some thought the plague had been started by dark spells which had went wrong when they were cast, and somehow they had mutated and caused that person to become sick. After that, the person simply spread it around and then they had a plague. In some really weird theories, other people believed that the rats that had the sickness were from the magical world, and these people couldn't sustain the magic, so therefore they got sick.

Vita sort of laughed at that last theory. She had never seen a magical rat in her entire life. Although, she wouldn't necessarily count it out considering the magical world was pretty creepy at times and had a lot of unexplained occurrences and creatures. Vita had read the whole book by the time she needed to go to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the Hufflepuffs. She closed the book and shoved it back into her bag before walking to the usual classroom.

Vita entered the classroom to find none of the furniture. There were no desks or tables for students to sit and place their belongings. The only objects in the room were the teacher's desk, possessions for teaching, and the floor below them. Vita decided she would stand next to the wall by the windows and throw her backpack on the ground. As Vita leaned against the wall, Cedric stepped into the classroom.

Cedric glanced around the room and then up at Vita. "What's this all about?" He asked before walking over to her and also leaning up against the wall.

"I have no idea," she replied. "It must be a tactical lesson today."

After several minutes, many students came into the classroom. Once the room was full, Moody entered the classroom and stood behind his desk. "I'm sure after the debacle with Barty Crouch Junior, you all know who I am. There is no need for introductions unless I am asking your name," he explained with seriousness in his voice. "This is Defense Against the Dark Arts so if you're not in the right place, then get out. This class will be hard since there will be no written assignments, reading, or anything that requires you to turn something in to me. It will all be hands-on lessons. Now, has anyone ever thought about being an Auror?"

Only five or six students raised their hand and one of them was Vita. She had wanted to be an Auror ever since a Death Eater killed her mother. She didn't have any backup ideas for a job. She only wanted to be an Auror and that was it.

"Yes. Miss Valios. Come up here please." Moody requested as he picked her out from the small group of students who wanted to become an Auror.

Vita walked to the front of the classroom and stood there. "Now pick a partner." Moody demanded.

Vita thought about picking Cedric, but she realized how obvious that would look. She glanced at the rest of the students and watched the faces of them. Some of them appeared as if they didn't care one way or the other if they had been her partner. Others had a look of disgust as if they wanted nothing to do with her. Vita couldn't pick one student out from the crowd so she looked at Moody. "You can pick for me, Professor." She stated, hoping he would pick for her.

"That's very brave," stated Moody. "Most people pick a partner because they know the person so they know what to expect. You, on the other hand, want to be surprised. That's a thing very few students would ever do. With that said, I think Mr. Diggory would be a worthy opponent."

Vita sighed silently in her mind. She wondered what it was with the professors picking Cedric as her partner all the time. First it started with Snape picking Cedric to be her partner in Potions, and now Moody picked him to be her partner in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It almost appeared as if the professors knew Vita and Cedric had been enemies in the past, or if they had known something else was going on. Then again, the two were complete opposites, one being popular while the other wasn't, so maybe that was why the professors always chose them to be partners.

Cedric stepped to the front of the classroom and faced Vita. He stood a few feet away because he figured they were going to duel.

"Now everyone else find a partner. I want one Ravenclaw partnered with one Hufflepuff." Moody stated. "Once you find your partner, we will be practicing the Disarming Spell, Expelliarmus." Moody moved his wand in a way to show the class how to do the spell. "Miss Valios, Would you care to demonstrate how the spell is properly done?"

Vita nodded at her professor before moving in a dueling position. Then, she pointed her wand at Cedric, flicked her wand in the circular motion, and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The flash of red light came out of her wand and caused Cedric's wand to fly out of his hand.

"Very good," Moody praised. "Five points to Ravenclaw. Now everyone start working on the spell with your partner."

Cedric picked up his wand and went back to his position. Vita and him practiced the spell and Vita managed to disarm Cedric more times than he had done to her. As for the other students, many couldn't disarm their partner. Many students had never achieved the Disarming Spell when they learned it in a previous year. Many students found it difficult to perform Defense Against the Dark Arts spells anyways. They just found the maneuvers too complicated to perform while saying the spell.

At the end of class, Moody told everyone to pack up. He gave a short speech about his intentions for the class. "Your grade will be focused on how well you do or do not achieve these spells. If you're struggling with any of them, you may want to find someone to practice with outside of class. I'd say that very few of you do not need to practice, and even then, it never hurts to practice, especially if you want to be an Auror," Moody explained as he looked at the class as more of an Auror training class than a Hogwarts class. "Now you are all dismissed."

Vita grabbed her backpack and turned to Cedric. "We better go to the library before Fred and George get kicked out." She explained, starting to leave the class.

Cedric grabbed his bag and followed in pursuit. "That wasn't a bad class," he stated. "You're really good at disarming me."

"Sometimes disarming someone depends on how tightly they hold their wand. You needed to hold yours tighter sometimes." Vita explained.

"Are you making fun of me now?" Cedric asked with a slight grin on his face.

"You never know." She replied as she walked to the library with him.

The two of them walked to the library and found a free table near one of the many stacks in the library. The library seemed to get slightly louder as the twins entered the library. They always knew how to make an entrance and get in trouble even during the most serious of times. Fred and George plopped down at the table across from Cedric and Vita with huge grins on their faces.

"What did you two do now?" Cedric asked curiously as he sometimes thought their mischievous ways were funny.

"Nothing," Fred replied. "It just so happens that Filch is flaming mad about the stench coming from the bathrooms by the Slytherin Common Room. He has no idea who did it."

"He probably has an idea that it was us," George stated. "It's all worth it though because Peeves is floating around down there shouting 'Pootie butts!' at all the students who actually use that bathroom."

Vita let out a loud laugh and accidentally snorted from laughing so hard. "Pootie butts?" She questioned, as she laughed so hard that tears started to form in her eyes.

Cedric even laughed slightly as he cracked open one of his books so he could study. Fred and George just grinned hugely while they pulled out a notebook and started to plan new schemes to annoy Filch to death. Vita finally calmed down and pulled out one of her textbooks for Charms. She found the class a little dull so she needed to study twice as hard to keep up in it. As she read through the book, one of her hands stayed on the top of her leg.

Cedric read his book, but glanced over at Vita. He noticed her hand was resting on her leg so he slowly moved his hand over there so he could hold hers. He finally put his hand over hers, but it scared Vita and she jumped slightly. This reaction startled Cedric so he pulled away quickly, and he pulled away so fast that he accidentally bumped his elbow on the table. Fred and George looked up at the two of them and away from their notebook of schemes. "What's that all about?" Fred asked while raising an eyebrow.

Cedric told them he had accidentally bumped his elbow on the table. It was the truth, but he left out the part about trying to grab Vita's hand. Vita stood up from the table and looked and acted slightly awkward. "I need to search for a book." She stated before walking away from the table. She walked while glancing down the stacks of books and then she entered one of the stacks and pretended to look like she was searching for a book.

"I need to find a book too." Cedric explained as he stood up from the table also. He took off and headed in the same direction as Vita. He glanced down the aisles of books until he saw Vita. He then walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

Vita looked at Cedric. "What?" She asked.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." He confessed before stepping closer to her. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips gently.

Vita didn't resist and she actually kissed him back harder. Cedric put his arms around her waist and pressed her up against the shelf of books as he kissed her passionately. He pressed her up against there so hard that it made a couple of books fall over. The noise startled the both of them so they pulled away and glanced down at the books. Vita bent down and picked one up. "I was actually looking for this book." Vita stated before picking up the other one and putting it back in its place.

"You were really looking for a book?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"I don't get you." Cedric stated. He thought she had come into the stacks to talk to him after he had tried to hold her hand. "Anyways, I have Quidditch practice so I should probably get going. You're coming right?"

"I don't know. I don't really watch people practice. It might look suspicious." She explained before leaving the stack of books and going over to Madam Pince to check out her book.

Madam Pince recorded her name and the book before handing it back to her. "It's due back in one week." She stated.

Vita just grabbed the book and walked away with Cedric. "Come on. Fred and George will be there even though they are on the Gryffindor team. I think they come just to see what I have up my sleeve." Cedric explained as he walked back to the table and grabbed his things.

"Fine." She replied as she packed up her possessions and headed out to the Quidditch pitch.

Vita went into one of the many stands with Fred and George. Katie and Alicia were up in the stand along with some other students who watched practice to scope out what other teams might be doing for Quidditch. Even Draco and his stupid lackeys were in the stand while most of the Hufflepuff students gathered together in a separate stand.

After a few minutes, Cedric and the other Hufflepuff members of the team started flying around on the Quidditch pitch. Katie and Alicia were glancing over at Vita and whispering things to each other before laughing. They were obviously saying bad things about her while Draco and his lackeys didn't pay any attention, even after Vita had saved Will and the boys came to her rescue, even if she didn't need it.

Cedric flew up on his broom and glanced over at his friends. He waved to them, but he noticed George was whispering something in Vita's ear and she laughed. A look of jealousy came over Cedric's face as he watched. He became distracted so he didn't notice one of the practice bludgers come up and it knocked him right off his broom. Luckily, Vita had remembered the spell Dumbledore cast on Harry in their third year to slow him down when he fell off of his broom.

Cedric slowly fell to the ground and fell into the sand pit, face down. Several students ran down there, Vita, Fred, and George included. One of the Hufflepuff teammates flipped him over and saw that he had a bloody nose. Cedric let out a small groan as he opened his eyes and they were so blurry. Vita stepped up to him with her wand and was going to heal his broken nose, but a Hufflepuff team member shoved her away. "Get away from him, you freak!" The younger guy shouted as a couple of the team members got Cedric up on his feet to take him to the Hospital Wing.

Vita and some of the others just watched as they walked away. For once, Vita realized if Cedric and her were to even think about being together, they would have to keep it hidden. If they didn't, things would be completely different. Cedric would lose the popular life he had, and Vita might become the target enemy of many girls and students. Things could possibly get out of hand if she were to date Cedric. She wondered if it would be worth it, considering the consequences and how he had treated her. She would soon make her decision and find out.


	6. One Blossoms, One Crashes and Burns

Vita knew with utmost certainty that if she were to see Cedric in the Hospital Wing in the morning, his friends would be there and would become suspicious of her intentions towards Cedric. It was only a few days ago that Cedric had been the same typical jock from the years before: teasing her and tormenting her about her appearance and lack of friends. However, he had started changing for the better, actually liking Vita and wanting to be in a relationship with her. The problem was, Vita had no idea how many people actually knew that Cedric and her had become closer.

Deciding to test whatever type of relationship Cedric and her might have, Vita decided to visit Cedric in the Hospital Wing in the morning. She entered the Hospital Wing to see a group of people around Cedric. Most of them were people on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team with him and were the same people who looked at Vita weirdly after she had rushed to Cedric's side from his Quidditch accident the day before.

She knew it would be a difficult situation, perhaps even embarrassing, but Vita walked over to Cedric's bed and stood next to it. "Hey." She greeted him quietly, ignoring his friends around him, if she could even call him his friends. She wasn't too sure about that.

"What are you doing here?" One of his friends spat at her before Cedric could even respond for himself.

"I thought that was pretty obvious." Vita said sarcastically, knowing that it might annoy his friend.

His friend glared at Vita. "Cedric, tell this freak you don't want her here."

Cedric looked at his friend and then he looked at Vita. "You should go. You don't really belong here." He said it as if he didn't mean it, but it pleased his friends nonetheless.

"Fine. When you grow up, come talk to me again." Vita said before leaving the Hospital Wing and heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. She didn't feel that hungry after what just happened but at least now she knew Cedric would never change. He would always want to keep up appearances so he would never be with her. It stung her a little, but deep down she knew this was the way it would be anyways.

On her way to the Great Hall, Vita saw Professor Snape and he looked right at her before stopping in front of her. "May I have a word, Miss Valios?" He asked but it wasn't really a question. It was more of a request that sounded like a demand.

She nodded. "Of course, Professor."

"You did not come to my office last night for your lesson." He stated. "Do you care to explain why?"

"It's because of the Quidditch match last night. Everything was pretty hectic and so I guess I just forgot. I'm sorry, professor." She apologized since she really had forgotten. Cedric's accident had caused her lessons to slip her mind.

"Very well. I suppose we do not need to have a lesson everyday." Severus said in his usual monotone voice. "We can meet when the time is convenient. Anyways, this brings me to my next lesson. We're going to skip around. I know how Cedric's friends reacted to you running down to the Quidditch Pitch after he fell. I see a lot of things and so I'm assuming his friends do not know that Cedric and you have been seeing more of each other. If he is not willing to make sacrifices, then you will just have to make him come to you."

Vita wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "I do not understand."

"Manipulation is one of your lessons, Miss Valios." He explained. "There are many ways to manipulate; the obvious being spells and potions, but there are different ways to manipulate someone. There is seduction and jealousy, which you could use to make Cedric come to you. George Weasley is friends with Cedric and yourself. There is a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow so you should ask Mr. Weasley and flirt with him. If Cedric sees you with Mr. Weasley, perhaps he will become jealous enough to come around."

"But I don't want to use George like that. He's nice and I guess I kind of like him but I would feel guilty."

"Any means necessary is a phrase you should learn. I'll expect to hear back from you later tomorrow. Now, carry on." He demanded so that she couldn't answer back.

Vita really didn't feel like eating at this point, plus breakfast was almost over. She didn't know how she was going to ask George to Hogsmeade. Her stomach always tied in knots at the thought of asking a boy on anything that resembled a date, or even just hanging out. Using George for personal gain made her feel terrible, but she did like George to an extent. He was the only one who had ever treated her halfway decent before Cedric started talking to her in a polite matter.

Vita decided to skip breakfast since she knew her first class was History of Magic with Gryffindor. For some reason, she doubted George would be there since he frequently skipped the class anyways. She knew learning wasn't necessarily his thing, but she remembered that he pretty much loathed anything to do with history. Plus she had to admit; Professor Binns was boring even to her. A ghost who just sat there and listed off date after date wasn't too exciting to anyone.

After a few minutes, Vita entered the History of Magic class and to her surprise, George was already in the classroom. No one was sitting next to him since Fred was sitting at the desk in front of George with a girl. Vita inhaled deeply and decided to approach George. "Can I sit next to you?" She asked politely, her heart beating faster than normally but not quite as fast as it did when she thought about asking him to Hogsmeade.

George smiled at her. "Sure. You don't really have to ask anyways." He replied.

Vita sat down quietly and pulled out her possessions she needed for the class. "So what are you doing here so early anyways?"

He grinned mischievously at her. "Fred and I put some clothing on statues near the Slytherin bathrooms that we put the stink bombs in from before. Filch is having a hissy fit since he can't catch us in the act. Fred and I decided it would be best to get to class early so we would have some type of excuse."

Vita chuckled slightly. "I bet the Slytherins are just loving all the torment."

"Oh yeah!" George exclaimed. "We even have one of the statues holding a sign that says 'Malfoy sucks'."

She just smiled at him since she didn't know how to really flirt with a boy. Boys were a mystery to her and of course she had read plenty of books, but in real life, things were more complicated. Plus, she wasn't exactly a glamorous girl so finding a guy who even paid attention to her was rather difficult.

Vita sat there quietly next to George while the rest of the students entered the class and found their seats. Professor Binns floated into the class and started listing off a bunch of dates and events to coincide with them. Vita tried to write down a few of them but she couldn't pay attention knowing that she had to ask George somehow.

Coming up with a definite plan, Vita ripped a small piece of paper from her notebook and wrote down, 'Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?' on it. Then she slid the piece of paper to George slowly so she wouldn't look too suspicious to anyone.

Vita's heart raced as she waited for his answer. She didn't even look at him to see his reaction or anything. She just saw him slide the piece of paper back to her after a minute or so. She picked it up and read, 'Yes,' and there was a smiley face next to it.

A breath finally exhaled from Vita's lungs. "What time do you want to meet up tomorrow?" She asked in a whisper.

"How about 10 A.M. by the Great Oak Doors?" He questioned quietly.

"Alright." Vita smiled and then she tried to pay to some more random facts.

At the end of class, Vita and George bid each other farewell and mentioned they would see each other tomorrow. Vita was actually kind of relieved that it had been so easy to ask George to go with her. A smile crept across her lips as she made her way back to her common room.

The next day, Vita dressed in her best sweater, which happened to be pink and fuzzy. She also put on a pair of black pants and didn't do anything to her hair. She knew that her hair was completely hopeless so she just left it the way it normally looked. Before going to meet George, Vita grabbed her cloak in case it was colder outside than she had anticipated.

Vita walked to her destination and she saw George standing by the doors waiting for her. Her heart skipped slightly when she noticed George was dressed up a bit. He had on a long sleeved dress shirt, one that was black with gray stripes. He wore black pants and his hair was still messy but it suited him.

Vita approached him and he smiled at her. "You look nice." He complimented.

She highly doubted it and her eyes were fixed on him slightly. "You look really, really hot." She accidentally let it slip, even though she had been thinking it.

A blush crept into George's cheeks. "Thanks." He said before running his fingers through his hair as if he had been embarrassed.

The two just started walking towards Hogsmeade in silence for a while. Vita felt pretty stupid and wondered if she had scared him already.

"So where do you want to go first?" George finally asked.

"How about Scrivenshaft's?" She questioned. "There is a book I want to check on."

"Sure." George replied. "I can see if they have any joke books or anything."

The two went into the store and Vita looked at a lot of books but not once did George complain. She even lingered when looking at a few books but he was patient and in the end, she only bought two books. When they walked out of the store, Vita felt like she should apologize. "I'm sorry I'm such a bookworm."

George grinned. "It's fine. I didn't mind at all and they had a really funny joke book in there. I might have to check out their joke books more often. Plus, I knew you liked books before we went in there."

Vita smiled at him. "So do you want to go to Zonko's since you put up with me in the bookstore?"

"Nah. The stuff Fred and I make is way better than what Zonko's has to offer. Their stuff stays the same half of the time so it can get pretty boring especially since Fred and I used to always go in there." He explained. "We can go in Honeyduke's if you want."

She smiled at him and walked to the shop that so many students went to for sweets. The two looked around for a while and both bought huge bags of candy before they left. Afterwards, they went to the Three Broomsticks to get a couple of butterbeers and take a break. They found a little table off to the side and sat down quietly after George had ordered the butterbeers up at the bar.

George held up his butterbeer and tapped it against Vita's gently. "Cheers." He said before downing a big swig of it. He sat the butterbeer back down on the table before looking at Vita. "So did you have fun today?"

Vita sighed because she felt bad about lying to George. She did like him but felt like it was time to come clean. "I have to tell you something." She admitted. "I do like you and I liked you before I asked you to come to Hogsmeade with me, but a part of me asked you to make Cedric jealous." She looked down slightly to avoid his eyes since she felt really guilty.

"I figured as much." George said. "I like you too so I figured that if I went with you, maybe you'd realize how much better I am than Cedric and you'd want to be with me anyways."

"Oh I do." She confessed. "Cedric is a jerk and I don't think he will ever change. You're not like him at all."

George smiled. "So you ready to head back after we finish up our drinks?"

Vita nodded. "Do you want to see the head common room?"

George agreed to see the common room so they both quickly finished up their drinks before leaving Hogsmeade. Vita loved her new common room and a part of her hoped that maybe Cedric would see George and her together if she showed George her new residence at Hogwarts. She didn't really care about making Cedric jealous anymore. It was more about getting revenge for how he had treated her. He had treated her horribly throughout all of her years at Hogwarts, so making him hurt a little bit wasn't such a bad idea to her. She thought he deserved it.

After awhile, Vita finally arrived to her common room so she let George in. George gasped as he glanced around the room in awe. "This place is way cooler than any of the other common rooms. You get this whole space to yourself, pretty much."

Vita smiled and sat down on the leather sofa. "Yeah. It's pretty nice and really quite most of the time."

George admired the room for a little longer before he sat down next to her. "So you really did have fun today?" He asked as if he were insecure about it.

"Of course."

"Good. I'm glad." George said while he looked at her. Then he slowly leaned in and kissed Vita on the lips.

Vita felt shocked at first but then she went with it. George's kiss was different then when Cedric and her had kissed. George's kiss was gentler while Cedric's was harder and filled with desire. She could still tell that George wanted her, but he kissed in a way that was meant to not scare her. He wanted to make sure it was okay to kiss her and that's why he was gentler about it, plus George's personality was completely different than Cedric's.

George pulled away and smiled at her. "I hope that was okay."

"It certainly was not!" A familiar voice exclaimed from the entrance of the room.

George and Vita both turned their heads to see Cedric entering the common room. He saw what happened and he looked extremely upset. "I thought you were my friend, George!" Cedric shouted at him while stomping his way over to the two of them on the sofa.

George stood up and shouted right back. "I can't help it that you treated her like such a jerk so she has to find someone better!"

"If that's what you think of me, then this friendship is over!" Cedric shouted as he glared at George.

"Fine with me." George said coolly before turning back to Vita. "I'm going to go now. I'll see you later."

George left their common room and stormed back to his own. Cedric turned to Vita. "Look. I'm sorry. I told my friends everything so you don't have to do this." He explained.

"It doesn't work like that. George is different." She confessed. "I won't have to worry about him going back on his word or saying one thing and meaning another. I won't have to worry about him hiding me. When it comes to you, I never know if you're telling the truth or not or if you're embarrassed to be seen with me. That's just the way it is."

Vita walked away from him and went into her room. In that moment, Cedric knew she was right. He knew he would have to try harder in his attempts to be with her. Not only would he have to prove himself, he was going to have to try and win her back. For some reason, no matter how much Vita was different, she got underneath Cedric's skin. He wanted to be with her and he couldn't figure out why so he knew he would have to fix his problems whether she stayed with George or not.


	7. Chapter 7: Never Thought

The next two weeks passed without a single word being uttered between Cedric and Vita. Every time they saw each other, in the common room or in class, they simply avoided each other, never making eye contact. Even Cedric and George were silent in their communication after their falling out over George dating Vita. However, George and Vita's relationship was blossoming and things were great between them, or so Vita thought. Outside forces were at work for the two of them.

Vita, George, and Fred all sat at the same table while eating breakfast. George and Vita ate hungrily while Fred was checking records of George and his product sales. They weren't exactly good in math, but Fred and George always kept records of how many products were being sold and ordered. Fred glanced up from the records and noticed Cedric watching them from a different table. "Cedric is staring again." Fred informed George and Vita.

"Let him stare," cracked George. "He's just jealous."

"I wish you two could work things out." Fred confessed. He was friends with Cedric, or up until George ended the friendship, and he knew he would always stick with George, but he really didn't have a problem with Cedric.

"Good luck with your wish coming true," retorted George. "You may want to try wishing on a star."

"Very funny." Fred said sarcastically while rolling his eyes. Then he returned to studying the records but he made a face of confusion by wrinkling his forehead. "That's odd."

"What's odd?" George questioned with a bit of concern.

"Our sales and orders have been reduced majorly these past two weeks." Fred explained, checking the records again to see if he had made a mistake.

"Do you know why?" George asked with surprise since their products were always in demand and never saw a recession.

"I have a theory." Fred stated, acting a bit shifty.

"Spill the beans then." George demanded, slowly becoming impatient.

Fred sighed and glanced at Vita for a moment. "A couple of students told me they wouldn't order our products because you're dating Vita." He finally confessed.

"That's absurd!" George exclaimed angrily. He found it awful that someone would stop ordering products based on what he did with his personal life.

George glanced at Vita, noticing she had stopped eating and was staring at her plate. "Hey. Don't worry about it. They're just stupid gits." He tried to convince her.

Vita nodded but didn't feel like it wasn't her fault. Students typically disliked her so why wouldn't they stop ordering products if Vita dated George? It seemed to add up in her mind, and every time she started to feel even remotely happy, her world would come crashing down upon her.

"We still have to discuss how we are going to fix this problem." Fred stressed before standing up and closing the record book. "We have to get to class but since we have History of magic, we can discuss it in there."

George turned to Vita since the class was with Ravenclaws today. "Do you mind if I sit next to Fred in class today?" He asked softly, almost in a way to try and not hurt her feelings.

"It's fine." She answered, knowing this meant she would be sitting by herself at the table.

The three of them walked to class quietly, George walking next to Vita while Fred walked in front of them. This had been the typical routine since Fred spent less time with Katie Bell, but he didn't mind the arrangement. Katie told him she wouldn't hang around him if Vita was near and he was fine with that.

Once the three arrived at their class, Fred and George sat at the same table together, leaving Vita to sit all alone at the table behind them. She actually took notes during the class but found herself distracted since Fred and George kept whispering and passing notes. Vita couldn't hear them but she knew it had to be about the products and partly about how she was to blame. What bothered her more was the twin's dead silence near the end of the class.

After the class was over, the three left class quietly. George walked next to Vita as usual but he was even more quiet than usual. Vita's heart sank as if she knew what was to come. Instead of waiting for the worst to come, she asked the question she feared. "Are you breaking up with me?" She asked in a whisper.

George stopped in his tracks and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry." He apologized, confirming her suspicions.

Tears started to collect in Vita's eyes. "Why? Because some people won't buy your products just because of me?" She questioned with hurt.

"Our products are important to us. We want to own our own business someday." He explained.

"But you wanted to be with me. You like me!" She shouted at him, causing a few students to stare.

"You originally liked me to make Cedric jealous!" George shouted back at her.

"But you kissed me!" She exclaimed loudly, causing them to gain an audience.

"And what a lousy kiss it was on your part." George said bitterly but also accidentally.

The words wounded Vita down to her heart, the heart George had just broken. She stood there a moment in silence, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. Then she just turned and walked away towards the Head Common Room. After she arrived there, she went directly to her room and laid down on the bed, sobbing into her pillow. George was the last person she thought would hurt her, but she was wrong.

Sometime later, Cedric entered their common room and he could hear her sobs. He knew what had happened since it didn't take long for the news to travel after that huge scene Vita and George had caused. A part of Cedric felt relieved to know that Vita was single and away from George, but another part of him, the part that truly cared for her, wanted her to be happy and not suffer through this.

Cedric walked towards Vita's room before knocking on the door gently. He waited for a response but could only hear her continued sobs. Deciding he wanted to console her, he entered her room and stepped over to the bed. "Vita," he whispered. "It's Cedric."

Vita didn't respond so Cedric sat down on the bed. He never was good at comforting people but he wanted to try. Gently placing his hand on her back, he rubbed it gently. "George is a jerk." He stated, even though that was pretty obvious at this point. Realizing how stupid that sounded, he brushed a bit of her long hair away from her neck with his hand. Then he proceeded to stroke her hair gently. "I'm sorry about what happened and I want you to know that I'm here for you."

Vita turned and laid her head in Cedric's lap, allowing Cedric to comfort her. Cedric stayed with her and the two actually fell asleep in her bed.

After a few hours, Vita awoke to find it dark in the room. She felt Cedric laying next to her and so she moved her body gently. He moaned and woke up anyways. "Where are you going?" He asked while rubbing his eyes.

"I have somewhere I have to be." She said quietly, the hurt still in her voice.

"Can we talk when you get back?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

"Alright." She said softly before getting out of bed and leaving the common room. Then she headed to Professor Snape's office to have another one of their lessons. Lately all of their lessons had been practical lessons, focusing on reviewing things before going onto bigger lessons.

As she entered, only light from his office shown in the place as usual. She entered his office quietly, not concealing her eyes that were red from crying and her tear stained cheeks. There was no point in hiding from Snape since he probably heard the story anyways.

Snape stood up from his desk and walked over to her. "You shouldn't let Mr. Weasley's actions and words bother you." He stated while staring down at her. "Your heart will be broken several times throughout your life."

"Save me the lecture." Vita stated, not caring if she made him mad.

"You're right," He admitted before picking her up and gently setting her down on his desk. "Mr. Weasley obviously doesn't know how wonderful you are."

Vita looked up at Snape, trying to read his expressions. He brushed hair out of her face before leaning in closer. The breath caught in Vita's chest as he leaned in closer and the look he gave her made her tremble. Before Vita knew it, Snape's lips came crashing down upon hers. She felt shocked but she didn't refuse him. In fact, she kissed him back gently, her heart racing in the process.

She didn't want to reject Snape considering she respected him so much. The problem was that Snape didn't pull away. His kisses became more demanding and filled with more desire. He laid her down on his desk roughly but she didn't complain since her heart raced uncontrollably and her mind went into overdrive.

"I won't hurt you." He state before his lips pressed against hers again. His lips gently trailed down her neck while his hands wandered over her body. Her hands found his face and pulled it away from her neck before she pressed her lips against his, wanting to feel anything other then this pain that George had caused her. If there was one thing she wanted to feel more than ever, it was to feel like someone wanted her, that she belonged.

Soon, clothes were being scattered on the floor and Snape and her were doing the unthinkable, especially for a student and a professor. Vita never thought her first time would happen like this, but she was wrong about quite a few things today.

Afterwards, Snape and Vita put on their clothes in complete silence. "We have to keep this a secret, but I won't say it's a mistake that we did this either." He explained before finishing up with putting his clothes on.

"I know." She replied in a whisper. A part of her was too confused about all of this to really have any other reaction.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a voice other than his typical monotone one.

"Yes."

Snape stepped in front of her before pulling out his wand and pointing it at her stomach. He uttered a spell and a blue light hit her stomach. "This will make sure you don't get pregnant." He stated, which was something Vita hadn't even thought about since everything happened so quickly - well the moments leading up to it - not the actual event.

Vita nodded quietly as she felt Snape's eyes on her. "I hope I didn't hurt you." He confessed with actual concern in his voice.

"No, you didn't." She replied, thinking about the actual event itself. Snape was actually a perfect gentleman. He seemed to know that because when it came to the actual moment, he took things slower since she had been a virgin. The thing that surprised her most was that Snape had a desirable body. It's not that she thought he was ugly – she didn't think that all – but she thought maybe he wouldn't be in shape for his age and she definitely was surprised when she found out otherwise.

"Our lessons will continue but what we just did cannot happen again," he explained. "I care about you deeply but I'm also your professor and should uphold my authoritative role. Plus it is also wrong for me to take advantage of a student."

Vita looked up at him feeling touched since he seemed to care so much. "You didn't take advantage of me. I'm considered an adult in the wizarding world and not once did I tell you to stop." She confessed before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Snape hugged her back. "Alright. You better get back to your common room now." He suggested in that normal cold voice of his, but Vita didn't take any offense to it.

Vita quickly took off and headed back to the common room where Cedric was already waiting for her on the sofa. She sat down next to him and his eyes were on her like a vulture. "What?" She asked, wondering what he was staring at her in such an intense way for.

"You just seem different." Cedric stated, still trying to read her like she was an open book.

"I'm fine," she quickly replied. "Now what did you want to talk about?"

Cedric placed his hand over hers before he looked into her eyes. "I really want to start over with you to try and make things right. I meant all of those things I said in the past about how I feel about you. My friends won't be an issue because I really won't care what they think of me." He said softly with a caring voice.

Vita sighed as she remembered how awful it felt to keep getting hurt by him. "I just don't want to get hurt again."

"I know you don't and I promise that I won't hurt you. I never meant for everything to happen like this." He explained, the tone of his voice going lower as if he felt guilty. His gaze turned to the ground.

A slight smile crept across Vita's lips as she squeezed his hand. "Alright, but if you hurt me again, I'm going to whoop you."

Cedric smiled at her. "Deal!" He exclaimed with a grin.

Vita leaned in and kissed Cedric's cheek. "I want to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"I understand," he said. "Goodnight."

Vita bid him goodnight and then went into her own room. She changed into her pajamas before crawling into bed so she could think about all of the events that had happened to her today. First she was happy with George, then had her heart ripped out by him. Later, Cedric comforted her even though she wasn't expecting him to be the good guy. Afterwards, she had sex with Snape, something she thought would never happen but she was actually glad did happen. He wanted her and made her feel wanted, so that was alright in her mind, regardless of their age or the consequences. It would be their secret. In the end, she had sort of fixed things with Cedric and hopefully her life would start to turn around.


End file.
